Spring: [new life/dead life]

so i decided to update the blog. rather than start a new one every time i get a musing to write, work at it for a few months, abandon it, and then start a new one, might as well keep at something for a change, right?

persistence. it's something most Christians need to work on. the oft-used phrase to describe this work is
[spiritual discipline]

it's something that as someone who works with youth as a Young Life leader, i understand quite a bit, both from personal growth, and the spiritual coaching that comes with my role.

i see it every fall.

as the seasons change and the leaves die and the days get shorter...
...the depression spells get longer and the addictions seem tougher and the battles get harder.

all fall and winter long, we [struggle] in the dead of it all, we [struggle] to keep our heads up. i push and i pray and i fall to my knees and cover my students with prayer. i get down to the nitty-gritty and fight the battles alongside of them.

i have been so blessed by what i have seen come out of these battles.

• students who see breakthroughs on their battles with addiction and lust
• true understanding of the power and majesty of God
• late-night rescues from the throes of depression and anxiety
• convictions of sins and dedications of change.

...all in the powerful name of JESUS...

**but here's what worries me**

i see it happen every year, especially in youth ministry.

with the warmer weather and the brighter days and the chance to be outdoors, we see [new life] springing up. 

people get more happy, more confident, more content.

as Gungor says, "hope is springing UP from this old ground".

but with the new life of spring, up come the WEEDS.

Friends, when spring arrives, lots of green comes up out of the soil. We rejoice with the new life. But the problem is...with that green comes some weeds. We're so happy to see the SUN and to be [outside] that we often get overconfident. 

...we have OTHER things to do now. 

Sure, sitting inside on a Friday night doing a Bible study is fine when it's -20 out...but in the spring? nah, let's go play outside! Let's go hang out and do other things!

Our overall mood is lifted from sullen and dead, to alive and happy, so much so that we often foresake the need to cling to God that we felt in the winter. In the WINTER so much dies off, that it comes to the point of just [us and God]. We feel as though we have no choice but to rely on him. 

But in the SPRING when everything sprouts up, we have so much life. It's just...are we getting life from the right things???

Don't get me wrong! Spending time outside and hanging out with friends are not bad things! Just don't FORESAKE God in it! 

Because here's the thing. In the spring, the WEEDS that mix in with the GOOD STUFF springing up... well, they're easy to pull up, but they're harder to identify. But any good farmer can tell  you...

[DON'T WAIT!]

Because once those [weeds] take hold, they will be a lot harder to extract, and it might just take another WINTER season in your life to kill everything off to realize how much you need God. 

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**With the SPRINGTIME GROWTH will come CUNNING WEEDS. They may be hard to tell, and not seem that dangerous, but you need to make sure [NOTHING] is choking you out from being deeply rooted in God. 

Matthew 13:24-30.

In His Grip,

-J

[freedom/bondage]

i want to touch on something that just happened yesterday, that regards freedom, especially as we honor the freedom of our country.

what follows is what i wrote down in response to what someone who claims Christianity said about the case and the jury.

to those upset by the verdict of the casey anthony trial.

rather than point fingers at the jury, i want you to have to sit locked away in a hotel room, without any family, friends, or outside communication. you have no e-mail, no facebook, no cellphone. do that for 10+ months while listening to psychologically devastating descriptions of this trial. if you don't go so insane that you wind up in a mental hospital, then try and decide what to do. have a little slack on the jury. and plus, you didn't sit through every bit of evidence, do you really think you know any better what happened? And for those "Christians" who are lambasting the jury with names i would never want to be associated with, uh, go read romans 12:19. If this was a mistake, then do you really think God would let her get away with it? i mean, if the jury did make a mistake, forgive them, unless you want to be judged the same way.

what does it mean to be free? regardless of whether casey anthony was guilty of murder or not(and i'm not here to tell you my opinions), the case was tried and the verdicts read.

......for those of you who think she was guilty and the jury messed up.......

do you [really] think that God is not in control?

......for those of you who think she not guilty and justice was done.......

do you [really] think that she is "free"?

the bondage that casey anthony will now live with the rest of her life, is arguably worse than the bondage of prison that she would have faced.

casey anthony will now be marked by society with a scarlet letter, as the "baby killer who got away"

...and you know what? to all you "Christians" who are saying these terrible things about both the jury and about casey anthony?

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"let the one who is without sin cast the first stone".

those are the words of Jesus, for a woman who was [convicted] of a capital crime; adultery.

there was no shadow of a doubt.

some even say that it was a set-up; a "sting-operation" if you will.

• before you blame the jury for a bad verdict...
• before you condemn a woman with a past...

if.you.call.yourself.a.christian... (which means, by definition, you are a CHRIST-follower)

then walk as your teacher did.

"and if she really is guilty?" you ask...?

then trust that the God in heaven will deal with her.

today, casey anthony still sits in bondage. she has a jail term to serve for her lies to the police. but she also has the bondage of a judgmental society.

christians...you don't have to like her. but you DO have to love her.

In His Grip,

jonathan

[church/religion]

when i don't know how to start a blog, we might as well start with dictionary definitions of the terms that i want to talk about, right?

so...

church

1. a building for pubic Christian worship

2. public worship of God or religious service in such a building

and

religion

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe

2. a fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by persons

okay, all good and well(so to speak), two terms that for many people evoke passionate(violent?) emotions. these terms form the basis of many a discussion, argument, debate, writing, etc. these are terms that so many people get caught up with, without ever really knowing what they are even talking about. in their hurry to get out opinions [or even to just hear their own voices], people flippantly use these terms in ways that they often dont understand.

now bear with me.

i know i did a posting on the difference between being [religious] and [spiritual]. this is different. what i want to look at is the (apparent lackof) contrast between the church: building, and religion: beliefs.

to start off with, [church].

dictionary.com offers up a fine definition of what church is, and for most people, this is a definition that would suffice. church is a place we go to, it is what happens on sunday morning, and is full of opinionated people, on the topic of religion.

Yay, perfect segway into [religion].

dictionary.com offers up (yet again) a fine definition of religion, as a set of beliefs that many people hold in common.

where is the contrast you ask? just drive into west michigan, specifically ottawa county on a given sunday, and walk to a street corner. chances are, three of the four street corners will have a church on them (seriously, not an exaggeration), but each of the churches will have a different denomination.

• CRC (christian reformed church)
• RCA (reformed church in america)
• URC (united reformed church)
• PRC (protestant reformed church)
• AoG (assembly of God)

(alphabet soup anyone? this'll make your head spin... http://www.abbreviations.com/acronyms/RELIGION)

now. for those of you not familiar with the scrabble scramble that occurs on sundays in a town with more than one church denomination, basically it goes something like this.

1. pick a denomination (which basically is just a grouping of churches that share similar beliefs on non-salvation [or not] issues)
2. make your family go to that denomination
3. hate every other denomination and tell people why your denomination is better
4. indoctrinate your children to do the same.
5. repeat
6. (optional) cause a church schism if the church does something you don't like. make sure to yell really loud.

now do you see the problem? church provides the [means] and religion provides the [opportunity] to cause some of the largest and nastiest fights in history.

think

• the crusades?
• the kkk?
• abortion clinic bombings?
• westboro baptist church?

now don't get me wrong, not all churches start blowing up buildings. personally, i think denominations are a great way for churches with similar styles to come together to poll resources and work together. not all church styles fit all types of people, and thats okay. God made us unique and different (tower of babel anyone?). the problem is, we get so caught up in trying to be [better] and have the flashiest worship "celebrations" or the most orthodox liturgy, or the most active spiritual workings, that we fail to acknowledge the God behind those things...AND what that God commands of us to do in worship.

however...

an oft quoted passage by progressive christians who try and argue for destruction of denominations and of religion and of big church meetings often cite James 1:27

"religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world"

the fundamental problem with throwing out religion and church in favor of the teachings of the apostle james is that this was not the point of james at all. if we were to throw out anything that is [difficult], we shouldnt be in the service of christianity at all.

instead of abandoning the church and religious culture, we need to fix it. brothers and sisters, rather than running away and (God forbid) start a new post-modern church denomination of "pure and faultless religion", apply II Timothy 3:16 and use the scripture you have. fix the broken. after all, christianity is all about fixing broken lives through Jesus, right?

As famed religious critic sir elton john has said 'religion has the tendency to turn normal, rational human beings into hateful lemmings [editor's note: must be a british term]'. and he is right, if we keep bickering over where to place the pulpet, instead of helping the 50 babies that have died in the last five minutes that it has taken you to read this blog posting...

In His Grip,

-J

[love/love]

contrasting?

maybe.

how can love and love be contrasting?

well, simple. the Bible talks about the word love in a plethora of ways (well, actually only two...but go with me).

for Christians, one of the most commonly cited passages about love is [1 cor 13]. this is what's often known as the "love chapter", and defines what love is and what love is not.

for your reference...

Love is:

• patient
• kind

It:

• does not envy
• does not boast
• is not proud
• is not rude
• is not self-seeking
• is not easily angered
• keeps no record of wrongs

Love does not:

• delight in evil but rejoices in truth

Love always:

• protects
• trusts
• hopes

***1 corinthians 13:4-7 niv***

okay, that's good and all...

but what about my love for [warm chocolate chip cookies]?

nothing beats (at least in my mind), a freshly baked, crispy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside, gooey, chocolate chip cookie. so good.

crap, i'm hungry now...must focus.

anyways, would i say that my love for such a heavenly delight really fall under this definition of love?

well....

• i certainly envy its deliciousness
• i am definitely not kind to it when i eat it.... o.O
• any chocolate chip cookie out of the oven doesn't have a hope in the world of lasting longer than 5 minutes....
• the list (and my bad humor) can go on and on...i think you get the point.

the point is, we throw around the word [love] too flippantly.

in 1 corinthians 13:4-7, the root of the word "love" is greek, and comes from the word ἀγάπη which in english translates to something like "agape". this type of "agape" love is not foreign to many Christians, but i'll define it roughly for those who don't know what it means.

agape love: a self-sacrificing love. a love for something where a person would die rather than give up or break the bonds of love. [the type of love God has for us]

dear friends, in the words of the apostle john, the [disciple whom Jesus loved...]

"this is [agape] love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins".

---------------

wait.

i said there was at least two types of love in the Bible. you're right. the greeks actually had [four] words for love in their language:

• agape (unconditional),
• eros (erotic),
• storge (family love) and
• philia (brotherly love, casual).

the Bible uses agape as seen in the corinthians passage, and also uses philia in passages like romans 12:10. there are also examples of eros and storge in the Bible but are not specifically called that.

my point?

my brothers and sisters, we are called to LOVE by our great God, who LOVED US FIRST. but what does that mean? shallow relationships with hundreds of people who we "love" about as much as i love chocolate chip cookies?

i dont think so.

i feel we are called to LOVE deeply, to invest in each other and in friendships. it takes a lot of work and it can be painful at times. but in the words of mumford and sons:

"where you invest your LOVE, you invest your LIFE".

i'm wrapping up my time here at camp Michindoh for YoungLife, and have seen literally hundreds of campers walk through here who have never experienced the love of the Father, or deep spiritual love. they have been told they are "loved" even, but when push comes to shove, they are the ones shoved aside. brothers and sisters, we have a responsibility to love. let's not let that pass away, much less that the Father would do the same...

In His Grip,

Jonathan

[story]

this one doesn't have a contrasting title, because i don't think [words] can describe what i have to say...

i have been working at a younglife camp since the beginning of june in hillsdale, michigan, at a camp called [michindoh]. i'm on the music team, as well as one of the four people who tell their life-story in front of all 250+ kids every week for an event known as lifesigns. it is the hope of those running camp that by us telling [our story] that the kids can relate and realize that [their story] is really just part of the [big story], and that they are not alone.

i've been completely taken aback by this experience.

as part of our assignment, we greet every single camper and leader as they get off the bus (there were 308 this week). we give each and every one of them a high five or a hug as they get off the bus and start at the camp welcome. i saw every single camper get off that bus and walk into a place where, for the first time, some of them had

• walls broken down
• the [truth] poured into them
• been told for the first time that someone LOVES them.

throughout this week, i've had several campers and leaders come up to me and tell me about their lives; about the emotional pain they feel, the sense of hopelessness that they have inside.

its hard.

it really is hard.

i remember being at that point of helplessness, where trapped between reality and madness there was only room for heartache. never in a million years could you have told me that, five years ago, in the pit of my own despair, would i ever have the opportunity to tell my [story].

if you are reading this, know that you are not alone.

there is a GOD out there who cares for you, who wants to know you.

its not about [my story] or [your story] or [anybody's story].

its about [HIS story]

and in his ending, you are the winner.

always winning,

-J

[drunk/sober]

this is the epitome of contrast, if you ask me.

the very definition of being drunk means to be [not] sober

while

the very definition of being sober means to be [not] drunk

its usually pretty easy to tell if a person is drunk versus sober, given their contrasting nature.

i mean...

we've all seen those TV shows where the cop pulls someone over, whose clearly as inebriated as humanly possible...who, while falling out of their car, is telling the cop that "no officer ma'am, i haven't been drinking tonight..."

yeah....clearly, not drinking.

it is the [actions] of the person that define drunkenness and sobriety, not their [words].

the same is true for Christian spirituality.

1. it the the actions of a Christian, not their words that define love [1 John 3:18]
2. it is possible to be [drunk] or [sober] as a Christian, in the spiritual sense [1 Cor. 12-14]

there is a sharp /divide/ in Christianity today, between those sober in spirit and those drunk in the spirit. while this might be considered an interesting way to describe Christianity, there is evidence for both in the Scriptures.

evidence for being sober [in the spirit]:

1. 1 Peter 5:8 [be sober-minded]

2. Galatians 5:21 [...drunkenness...and things like these...will not inherit the Kingdom of God]

3. etc.

evidence for being drunk [in the spirit]:

1. Acts 2 [the actions of the disciples at Pentecost, to the point where Peter had to distinguish between their actions]

2. Nehemiah 8:10 [the joy of the Lord is our strength, that is, the joy of the Spirit]

3. etc.

trust me, this is an argument to end all arguments, and is one of the major schism points in the church. i have been on both extreme ends of this debate, and can definitely see and understand both points of it.

but whats the point of it?

is it really worth getting worked up over the [power of the Spirit], and how it manifests itself?

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absolutely!

we should be [utterly] concerned about how the Spirit manifests itself.

i want, i desire to see the Spirit move in power. if the Spirit of God moves people to actions of extreme joy, who am i to limit its power? Scripture is also very clear on the gifts and workings of the Spirit and they are [real] and they are [powerful].

if God made us [fly] or [walk on water] or be [completely self controlled], He would completely be in the right to do so. that is his [control] and i want to rest in it.

so for me, its not about being [drunk] or [sober].

its about being [in the Spirit].

[traditional/contemporary]

yup. we're talking about worship styles.

this is a topic i could go on and on and on and on and on about...

when discussing worship, one must be very careful when deciding any of the following. note this is not an exclusive list.

• to clap or not to clap?
• to raise hands or not to raise hands?
• organ?
• drums?
• choir or praise team? or both?
• hymnals or projection screens?
• too fast or too slow?
• too loud or too quiet?
• spontaneous or deliberate? or spontaneously deliberate?
• stand up or sit down? kneel? dance?

clearly, this idea of worship style is greater than one church staff meeting. discerning the style of worship appropriate for church takes lots of time, prayer, and thought...the first question being, "what does it mean for this to 'fit' my church"?

is this really "my" church?

does my opinion matter?

should it matter?

why?

as you can see...this question tends to spawn off multiple threads and roots, many of which lead the discussion so far off topic that by the time people are done shouting at each other, we're left a larger mess than the one we started with.

problem.

definitely a problem.

as a worship leader, this is something i have struggled with for a long time. and to be forthright, i don't have the answers. there will always be people who disagree with me, and i, them. i can tell you that God does not like quarreling [titus 3:9-10].

so what am i doing, writing on worship styles, if i'm not trying to explain or understand the various intricacies behind them?

simple.

i want to tell you

its not about you.

the way you worship.....and the way you like to worship....

are two totally separate things.

the way we should worship is laid out for us in [john 4:24]

"God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth"

the way we like to worship....

can vary.

the things that matter are....

1.) are we actually worshiping? because we are commanded to.

2.) is our preference for worship style getting in the way?

...because then that means our preferences are more important than following God.

....whoops.

i once had a worship leader talk to me about styles of worship. she said,

"jonathan, if you are in the congregation and you don't like the song playing, the style, whatever it might be...what should you be doing? it better not be sulking and complaining that you can't 'feel' God enough. God is all around you and you will experience Him whether you want to or not. at the very least, make sure you are praying for the people around you who are experiencing God right now. don't you dare let an opportunity to worship the Almighty God pass you by."

wow.

its less about style...and more about worship.

and if you have the chance to worship the Almighty God, i definitely would take it...would you?

-j